


The Beach Is For Lovers (Not Lonely Losers)

by Enigma13



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F, First Korra Fic, Swim Coach AU, self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 01:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17736785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enigma13/pseuds/Enigma13
Summary: Asami made a recent purchase, talked into spending more time with leisure activities by her assistant Opal. She did not count on that purchase requiring her to have the knowledge of swimming, a skill that she was never taught as a child and was to her great shame now.Lucky for her there is a place in the city that can teach her.





	The Beach Is For Lovers (Not Lonely Losers)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! Okay, so for those of you who don't know me from other fandoms, I would like to welcome you to my first Korra fic! I have loved Korra, and the entire Avatar universe since I was a kid, but no ship hit me in it as something I could write about until Korrasami. I've been obsessed, but have never gotten a plot or inspiration to actually write a fic for them... until now.
> 
> Now, a few things to explain before we get into it. I am a kids swim teacher in real life, no this has not happened to me, but I have taught adults when our usual customers are kids, and yes it is extremely awkward to do so, especially if they are scared of the water, but I also love making sure people are safe and can enjoy themselves around water. So, it is surprising it took me this long to do a Swim Coach AU since its literally what I do every day, and when I thought of it, there was no other ship to put into it than Korrasami themselves.
> 
> I hope I did the characters justice, and I hope you enjoy! The title of the fic is the title of a song by Neck Deep, its a banger.

It took Asami several moments after waking up and wondering why her alarm was going off at four in the morning before she realized that she had no one to blame for this other than herself. Her usual day started at five in the morning, and that had been okay with her and her sleep schedule. Being the youngest CEO in Future Industries’ history was a lot to live up to, and so the early mornings never bothered her, as her ambitions for the company were far greater than any tiredness she might have. 

This change to her schedule was a brand new development based on something that was all Opal’s fault. Or at least she liked to blame her. Her assistant had been on her relentlessly about spending some time off from work when the summer came. She actually had some pretty good points, and the company was also projected to turn a big profit in the summer, and Asami actually felt like she could afford a few days off then, which was a big deal for her and her workaholic tendencies. So she listened to her assistant and made a big purchase for herself. A boat, or rather a yacht. 

She thought that it was just a staple for someone in her tax bracket to have something like this, and she didn’t spare a thought to some requirements that might go along with spending her time off in the bay of Republic City. It wasn’t until after the yacht was delivered to her new dock space, that she’d purchased along with it, that she realized that unless all she wanted to do was ride the thing around in a circle, she’d need to actually learn how to swim.

She didn’t know why she’d never learned. It had just never came about when she was growing up. Her father, even in his overprotectiveness had never forced her to learn, and so she had just bought a huge boat to spend the hot summer days on, and yet wouldn’t be able to set foot into the water without drowning. 

This embarrassing realization had caused her to go into a slight panic. She had quickly looked up guides on the Internet on how to swim, but everything simply looked easier than it was. She tried out the guides in a private pool that she rented out, but she panicked anytime she didn’t feel in control of her body, and stood up rather quickly. So then, she searched places that might be able to teach her to swim, but to her dismay and embarrassment, the only places in the city that had private lessons were meant for kids, though nothing on their websites said that adults weren’t allowed, and so she had called and booked an appointment, paying a large amount extra to make sure that they would open earlier so that she wouldn’t be seen being taught to swim by some kid’s swim teacher.

So once she had her coffee, and had her swimming suit, newly bought, packed into a bag, she was out the door to meet the swim instructor that had been saddled with a five in the morning class. She felt bad, but that didn’t outweigh the embarrassment that she would feel if she was in the water next to some three year old who might be able to swim better than her.

When she pulled up outside of the building, she almost turned around. There were cute decorations on the windows of pink fish with big eyes and smiles, definitely geared towards kids. She couldn’t do this. She’d just see if the yacht had a return policy. But before she could fully back out, she caught sight of another car in the parking lot. She couldn’t ditch this poor coach whom she’d made get out of bed early in the morning, three hours before this place even opened. So she would go in there, do one thirty minute class and then just never show her face again.

The door was open, despite the open sign not being lit, and Asami made her way in. The layout of the swim school was basic, but allowed for a two-sided view of the pool, through Plexiglas. Asami looked through the glass and saw someone moving through the water quickly. It was tough to tell from here what the person looked like, but she could tell by the rash guard that they wore that they worked here and was most likely her coach. She couldn’t help but stare at them as they cut through the water, it was almost trance inducing and Asami forced herself to look away to scan the lobby.

It was clearly set up for children. There were painfully colorful furniture and toys scattered in an area near the front desk. There were several boards with cartoonish characters posted on them with reminders about everything from drowning rates to when their open swim times were. It was next to one of these boards that she saw a more professionally done sign with the list of “levels” that kids could graduate into as they progressed. It seemed that they had a parent and baby class at Level 1, and then from Level 2 onwards to Level 8 was just the kids and their coach. Beside each Level posting was a description of what the level helped the kids focus on. 

Before Asami could read further into these a voice from behind her spoke. “Asami for a Level 2 with Coach Korra.”

She frowned and turned. The voice was connected to, quite possibly, the most attractive woman that Asami had ever laid eyes on. Her skin was dark, which made her bright blue eyes stand out even more. Her hair was cut short, to just under her chin, and her light blue rash guard still clung to her toned body from where she had been swimming. 

Asami knew that it had been too long since the coach had spoken to salvage this conversation as anything resembling normal. She stuttered, looking for a way out. “I, uh, I still need to change into my swimming suit.”

Coach Korra grinned. “Take your time, we’ve got until open to do your swim lessons.” This girl was in way too chipper for the morning, and that was coming from someone who normally and voluntarily got up at five A.M.

Asami just nodded and walked quickly back to the changing rooms, located in the back past the viewing area. Asami was able to get her bearings there, as she changed. Of course it was her luck that she had to do something super embarrassing and her teacher for said embarrassing thing was super hot. She looked down at herself in her swimming suit and thanked any god that might be out there that she had bought a two-piece that she looked amazing in. It was all reds, maroon around the edges while a lighter red made up a majority of the fabric.

Once she was done and felt like she looked good enough, and felt confident enough that should could remember English around the incredibly attractive Coach Korra, she made her way back out to the lobby and through the door to the pool room. Korra was waiting for her, simply standing in the water, it only coming up to the lower part of her chest. She smiled at Asami and waved her in.

“Put your towel wherever and we’ll get started.”

Asami nodded and placed her towel on one of the nearby hooks; next to a blue one that she assumed was Korra’s.

The poolroom was warm, almost uncomfortably so. She supposed that it was kept that way so that kids would be more comfortable getting in and out of the water, but it didn’t become manageable to her until she stepped first into the pool. It was warm, but it took a lot of the humidity off of her skin and made the room much more comfortable to be in.

Korra smiled at her once again, almost a playful look. Asami thought she might have seen Korra’s eyes wander a little bit, but she shook that thought off. There was no way. “So, let’s get started with some questions.”

Asami nodded, still not trusting herself to open her mouth quite yet.

“So, why are you here? Are you wanting to learn how to swim competitively?”

Asami shook her head. “No, I, uh, bought a boat, and I never really learned how to swim as a kid, so I wanted to actually be able to use the boat this summer.”

Korra seemed to be holding back laughter. “You bought a boat before knowing this?”

Asami couldn’t help the blush that overcame her face. “It was an impulse buy.”

Korra let the laughter bubble forth then, and Asami felt the wind leave her lungs at the sound of the other girl’s laughter. It was a beautiful sound that Asami wanted to hear again, even if it was at her expense. 

Korra’s laughter died off and she returned to her questions. “Well, what can you do? So then we can start from there and work our way up to where you can be comfortable in the water.”

“Well, I can sort of doggy paddle?”

Korra waited a bit. “And?”

“That’s it.”

Korra blew out a breath. “Oh boy. Alright, I think the first thing we should go over is safety rules. If we can make sure that you survive in the water, then we can focus on swimming strokes after that.”

It made sense to her, so Asami nodded. “Alright, what should we do first?”

“Well for the kids I usually talk about how they can hold their air under the water, but I don’t think you’d appreciate all the cute songs that I can sing.” Korra winked at her, and Asami blushed. She wasn’t sure if it was because of what she thought was the obvious flirtatious tone in Korra’s voice, or the slight bit that seemed to be mocking her.

She gave her a playful glare. “Let’s just pretend I’m the grown adult woman that I am and say that I’ve got that part down.”

Korra’s cocky smirk did not dissipate. “I suppose that’s fair. I guess we’ll start with treading water. That way you can stay up when you’re in water that you can’t touch the bottom of. Perfect if you just want to chill in the water next to your,” Korra chuckled again, “boat.”

Asami nodded, wading a little deeper into the water. Korra smiled at her and moved closer. “So, basically, this is how it goes. You want to keep your chin up so you can keep getting your air. Now, because you’re…” she had the decency to look embarrassed for Asami, “slightly older than our usual students, you shouldn’t need to work as hard as them to stay above the water. You most likely have better body control and can keep yourself up without struggling too much, as long as you have the proper technique.”

“Okay, so how do I do it?”

Korra nodded and moved closer. “So first of all, you want to cup your hands slightly and keep them strong. Then you want to move them in a figure eight shape under the water. This makes sure that you are pulling the water in a way that keeps your head up. If you let it slip through your fingers then you won’t get enough pull to do that.” 

Asami cupped her hands and attempted to do so. She was still just standing in the water, but she saw Korra judging her form and she tried to focus on her hand motions without feeling like she was under the microscope. Korra walked behind her and gently grabbed her wrists. “Here, let me help.”

She slowly began to move her hands for her, but Asami was only paying attention to how close Korra’s breath was to her neck, and how she felt pressed up back against her. “See how you feel the pull of the water more this way?” Asami just nodded, her entire body shivering at the feel of Korra’s voice so close. She would have nodded to anything that Korra said. “Good, now for the legs you want to push them out wide to keep your center of gravity, and its kind of hard to do here with the water being too shallow. We’ll have to try it another time when I can figure out a creative way for us to practice it.”

Korra finally stepped back from her and Asami breathed in a deep breath of air that she felt like she hadn’t gotten in ages. She took a couple steps, desperate for some distance to think, her usual genius level brain in a state of absolute mush around her swim coach. “Okay!” Asami knew her volume was way too loud and flustered. “What’s next?”

Korra seemed amused by her state of panic. “I think we can work on floating on your back and then we can keep working on it next time you come in.”

“Yeah, next time…”

Korra frowned. “You do know this can’t be a one time thing, right? Swimming takes practice, just like anything else.”

Asami groaned. “I know, Korra, I just… this place is for kids, y’know? I just, I feel foolish.”

“Tons of adults don’t know how to swim, but this is something that can save your life, or be exercise, or just be fun!” Korra began to gesture with her hands. “I mean, you can go to pools and beaches, and you can meet your soulmate there, or go with friends or take your partner on a date… swimming is something that people should know, but its also not something to be embarrassed about if you can’t do it. I don’t care that you’re older than our usual students, its just important to me that you stay safe. I’m here to help you, Asami.”

Asami was speechless. She didn’t really know how to respond to Korra’s outburst. But after a few moments, she nodded. “You’re right… I need to tackle this like I do everything else. So, show me how to back float.”

The grin she got from Korra could have rivaled the rising sun outside. Korra then helped her lay back, adjusting her position until she was gently holding the back of Asami’s head as well as one hand gently laid on her cheek. Asami wasn’t even scared at how off balance she felt with water in her ears. Korra’s soft hands were completely distracting, that she felt herself floating without having to think about it.

Korra kept speaking so passionately on little corrections that Asami could make that she wasn’t quite sure she was following her because that same passion was making Asami just stare at her in wonder. Before Asami knew it, their time was up and Korra kept talking to her, though now not about swimming. She followed Asami to the showers, where Asami tried to keep up with Korra’s excited chatter while cleaning the chlorine of her hair. Korra was telling her funny stories about the children that came in to lessons and even some gross ones to go along with it.

She was almost done putting the conditioner in her hair when she realized that Korra had been silent for a while. Asami gave her a confused look. “Are you okay?”

Korra seemed to snap out of the trance she was in, staring at her. She had a large blush on her cheeks, but stuttered out an excuse before moving over to a nearby bench to grab her own towel. Asami frowned at that, wondering what had happened to the bubbly and confident girl she had seen in the water. She shook it off, needing to get changed and ready to head to work.

She used the changing rooms at the back of the store to change out of her swimsuit and into her attire for the day. She then made her way to the bathroom to make sure her make up was put on properly and hair looked halfway decent after being wet. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if one of the board members that disliked her found a hair out of place. When she felt like she was ready to leave, she made her way back out to the front of the store, where now, a more dried off Korra was standing, seemingly waiting for her.

Korra smiled at her and met her in the middle with two big steps. “So, Asami, should I expect you next week?” Korra’s blue eyes glittered with hope.

Asami remembered the passion with which Korra spoke in the pool room and found herself nodding before she could really think about it. “Yeah, I’ll be there. You’ll still be my teacher?”

“Of course.”   
Asami blew out a breath of relief before she gave Korra a final smile and made to walk out of the door. “Wait!”

She frowned and turned around to see the same bashful Korra that she had seen near the showers. She gave her a confused look. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing…” She paused, seeming to debate with herself for a few moments before thrusting something at Asami. “Just don’t forget this.”

Asami looked down at what Korra held in her hand. It was a sticker. It was bright and colorful. ‘You Did Swimmingly” was in bright pink lettering on the colorful background. Asami felt a small smile creeping up on her face, despite herself. She held it close to her chest and smiled back, biting her lip as Korra waved her farewell. What a dork. A cute, funny, confident, passionate dork.

It wasn’t until she got into her car that she actually looked down to examine the sticker closer. She shook her head in amusement before unpeeling it and reaching down to her bag and pulled out her agenda. She opened the first flap and stuck the sticker to the back of the front cover. She smiled at it, ready to get to work in a better mood than she could have anticipated, but when she moved to place the back of the sticker in the cup-holder of her car she noticed some sort of black mark on it. When she turned it over to look she saw Sharpie writing covering it.

‘If you feel like seeing me before next week’s lessons. – Korra.’ Under that writing was her phone number scribbled out quickly. 

Asami bit her lip and looked back in to see Korra peering out of the window at her before noticing she had been caught and stumbling back, only to bump into the wall before disappearing from view. 

Asami chuckled, grabbing her phone and pulling up a chat with the new number. She paused, debating what to say before typing out: “I can’t swim. Can I hold onto your floaties?” She put an emoji on the end of it and sent her pick up line, hoping for the best.

It only took fifteen seconds to get a response. “Oh my god, you’re such a dork.” Asami almost began to panic that she had screwed it up with a stupid pick up line when a second text came in. “I can pick you up Friday at seven?”

It took even less than fifteen seconds for Asami to respond with an enthusiastic yes.

**Author's Note:**

> So how did I do for my first Korra fic? I hope I did them justice and that you guys enjoyed! If you liked this and want to give my profile a look to see the many other fandoms that I write for and have done stories for, I would love that! 
> 
> For anyone totally new to me, it's very nice to meet you and leave a comment so we can get to know one another! Also, all of the swimming advice in here is really what I teach. I changed a few things so that I wasn't copying off my actual work, but that's all. 
> 
> My Tumblr is: @icameasahoplite I hope we can chat and be friends!


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